“On the 24th day of the 11th month, that is, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of Jehovah came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo”
(Zechariah 1:7)
It is important to remember that understanding the historical context allows for a better grasp of the prophetic enigmas in the Book of Zechariah (you can consult the page dedicated to the study of this context by clicking on the following link: The Historical Context of Zechariah’s Prophecy). Zechariah was a contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah. Reading these two books, which bear their names, helps us to understand how the return of the Jews from exile, from Babylon to Jerusalem, was organized after 70 years of captivity.
After the return from this exile, God’s message is benevolent towards Israel, the tribe of Judah and Jerusalem, in the form of a first prophetic enigma:
“On the 24th day of the 11th month, that is, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of Jehovah came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo, saying: 8 “I saw a vision in the night. There was a man riding on a red horse, and he stood still among the myrtle trees in the ravine; and behind him there were red, reddish-brown and white horses”
9 So I said: “Who are these, my lord?”
The angel who was speaking with me replied: “I will show you who these are.”
10 Then the man who was standing still among the myrtle trees said: “These are the ones whom Jehovah has sent out to walk about in the earth.” 11 And they said to the angel of Jehovah who was standing among the myrtle trees: “We have walked about in the earth, and look! the whole earth is quiet and undisturbed”” (Zechariah 1:7-11).
This first prophetic riddle appears to be in act 1 of scene 1, of a prophetic play, of which there is both the summary and the revealed end of the story, but in an encrypted way. This is why the examination of the book of Zechariah will be done by focusing on the decryption of these biblical enigmas.
The situation seems truly dramatic for these myrtles: they are in an abyss, that is to say in a situation comparable to death or complete inactivity (the expression » in the ravine » where the myrtles are found, can be translated as « abyss »).
Another parallel prophecy, that of Ezekiel (a contemporary of the prophet Daniel), illustrates the disastrous condition in which Israel, the tribe of Judah, and Jerusalem found themselves. It is the prophecy of the valley of human bones, dried by time, which are subsequently resurrected, illustrating that God will restore life to Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem upon their return from exile in Babylon:
“The hand of Jehovah was upon me, and by his spirit Jehovah took me and set me down in the middle of the valley plain, and it was full of bones. 2 He had me pass all around them, and I saw that there were very many bones lying in the valley plain, and they were very dry. 3 He asked me: “Son of man, can these bones come to life?” To that I said: “Sovereign Lord Jehovah, you are the one who knows.” 4 So he said to me: “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, ‘You dry bones, hear the word of Jehovah:
5 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says to these bones: “I will cause breath to enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will put sinews and flesh on you, and I will cover you with skin and put breath in you, and you will come to life; and you will have to know that I am Jehovah.”’”
7 Then I prophesied just as I had been commanded. As soon as I prophesied, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones began to come together, bone to bone. 8 Then I saw sinews and flesh come on them, and skin covered over them. But there was still no breath in them.
9 He then said to me: “Prophesy to the wind. Prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “From the four winds come in, O wind, and blow upon these people who were killed, so that they may come to life.”’”
10 So I prophesied just as he commanded me, and breath came into them, and they began to live and to stand on their feet, an extremely large army.
11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Here they are saying, ‘Our bones are dry, and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.’ 12 So prophesy and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “I will open your graves and raise you up from your graves, my people, and bring you to the land of Israel. 13 And you will have to know that I am Jehovah when I open your graves and when I raise you up out of your graves, O my people.”’ 14 ‘I will put my spirit in you and you will come to life, and I will settle you on your land; and you will have to know that I myself, Jehovah, have spoken and I have done it,’ declares Jehovah”” (Ezekiel 37:1-14).
The prophecy of Zechariah simply illustrates, in another way, this resurrection of Israel, Judah, and the city of Jerusalem.
The rider among the myrtles is an angel who appears to be acting benevolently toward them. This angel, with a red horse, is accompanied by other riders on red, reddish-brown, and white horses.
These three colors seem to correspond to the three colors of the myrtles: red, reddish-brown, and white. What does this field of myrtles represent in a desperate, near-death situation? It seems evident that they represent Israel as a whole, the tribe of Judah, where its capital and Jerusalem.:
“So the angel of *Jehovah (YHWH) said: “O Jehovah of armies, how long will you withhold your mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with whom you have been indignant these 70 years?”” (Zechariah 1:12). Even though Israel is not mentioned by name, the context of the prophecy makes it clear that the nation as a whole is represented by these myrtles. The fact that God only designates Judah and Jerusalem is because the prophecy of the restoration of the people of Israel is centered on Jerusalem, its capital.
The encouraging message of this study is that even if God disciplines his people, or us, it is a manifestation of his love for his people and for us individually. The apostle Paul, under inspiration, aptly illustrated this painful discipline from God, which causes us suffering but ultimately leads to eternal well-being:
“It is for discipline you are enduring. God is dealing with you as with sons. For what son is he that a father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without the discipline of which all have become partakers, you are really illegitimate children, and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we used to have fathers who were of our flesh to discipline us, and we used to give them respect. Shall we not much more subject ourselves to the Father of our spiritual life and live? 10 For they for a few days used to discipline us according to what seemed good to them, but he does so for our profit that we may partake of his holiness. 11 True, no discipline seems for the present to be joyous, but grievous; yet afterward to those who have been trained by it it yields peaceable fruit, namely, righteousness” (Hebrews 12:7-11).
* YHWH is the tetragrammaton, or four-letter for the Divine Name. In the New World Translation of the Bible, it appears with the vocalization commonly used for centuries as « Jehovah ». This vocalization is doubly inaccurate because it inserts the pronunciation J instead of I (i) or Y, and the V corresponding to W, which is pronounced « U » or « ou » (not V). The correct vocalization of the Tetragrammaton is YeHou(W)aH, Yehouah. The inaccurate vocalization « Jehovah » is retained in the Bible translation used, just as the inaccurate vocalization of « Jesus, » pronounced Yeshua or Yeshoua, because they are the most known to readers (click on the link to examine the study on the Divine Name in more detail: The Divine Name YHWH is pronounced as it is written).
***
The Prophecy of the Book of Zechariah
The prophecy of Zechariah and its prophetic riddles, explanations to know the future…
The Prophecy of Gog of Magog (Ezekiel 38 and 39)
Gog of Magog is a coalition of nations that are currently persecuting God’s people…
The Synopsis of the Study of the Prophecy of Daniel
The study of the Prophecy of Daniel is the analysis of current prophetic events in the Middle East and in the World…
In the question of Matthew 24:3, there are three important words that allow us to understand its meaning and the answer of Christ…
The Greek word translated as « presence, » mentioned in Matthew (24:3), is “πάρειμι”, “parousia” (Strong’s Concordance (G3952))…
The biblical account shows that the investiture of a king at the head of a kingdom occurs in two stages…
The verse 29, describes the signs before the « coming, » not the « presence, » of the Son of Man…
***
Reading the Bible daily, this table of contents contains informative Bible articles (Please click on the link above to view it)…
Table of languages of more than seventy languages, with six important biblical articles, written in each of these languages…
***